Virtual

Monday, August 21, 2017 1:00 PM ~ 2:30 PM ET

Do you serve populations with vastly different cultural backgrounds and language needs?  Do you wonder what culturally inclusive approaches are key factors in creating an effective employment and training program?  If so, we invite you to participate in this webinar. All NFJP grantees and other workforce partners are welcome to join the conversation. 

Description

The Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) recently held a peer-to-peer exchange in Little Rock, Arkansas, where several NFJP grantees shared their lessons learned about serving culturally and linguistically diverse farmworker populations and gathered information to increase access to, and opportunities for, the employment, education, training, and support services that migrant and seasonal farmworkers and other customers, including English Language Learners, need to succeed in the labor market.

In this webinar, we will hear from Jennifer Shahan, State Director, from Telamon Corporation in Salisbury, MD, where farmworker demographics have shifted significantly over the years.  As a result, Ms. Shahan’s staff has adopted a customer-centered approach to deliver employment and training services for Haitian, African American, and Caucasian farmworker populations.

Our second presenter will be Dina Eden, Senior Education Analyst, Center for Employment and Training (CET). CET is an eligible training provider in California, a WIOA National Farmworker Jobs Program grantee, and is accredited under the provisions in the Higher Education Act (HEA). Training courses align with career pathways, emphasized in WIOA and in HEA, that require alignment and a combination of training, adult education, and support services. This alignment and combination is an innovative and effective service design that helps students accelerate to Adult Education - English as a Second Language, Literacy and Math and GED certificate preparation. 

Full publication title: NFJP Peer-to-Peer Learning Opportunity: Navigating Through Language and Cultural Barriers To Increase Access to Employment, Education, and Training Opportunities

Moderator(s)

Laura Ibañez, Unit Chief, Office of Workforce Investment, Specialty National Programs, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

Kathleen Nelson, Director of Workforce Development, Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs

Presenter(s)

Jennifer Pusey Shahan, State Director, Telamon Corporation

Dina Eden, Senior Education Analyst, Center for Employment and Training